GOP frosh study up at budget camp

Republican leaders have been running something of a budget boot camp for the 87 members of their freshman class in hopes of getting them to the point they can pitch the GOP’s 2012 blueprint to their constituents back home.

In a normal year, the complexities of a budget plan are tough enough to explain to rank-and-file House members, most of whom are focused on more narrow issues. But this year, Republican leaders promise to address politically charged entitlement programs — such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — when they unveil their budget in the next few weeks.

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To do it, they’ll need the votes of freshman lawmakers who have at times conflated various budget-related issues, including the fiscal 2011 appropriations bills, the fiscal 2012 budget and the looming vote to increase the debt ceiling.

The freshmen are charged with selling the GOP’s plans in their own districts so that there’s public support for making significant changes to popular safety-net programs.

So, as they make big promises about their budget, Republican leaders have a big educational challenge: Teach the freshmen — and teach them fast. Some GOP sources warn that the freshmen haven’t been progressing as quickly as desired in “listening sessions” hosted by House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and led by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

The danger is obvious: If Republicans put out a plan that is rejected by the public, they could put their majority in jeopardy. The leaders remember President George W. Bush’s failure to win support for his proposal to create personal accounts in the Social Security system. The early outreach suggests Republican leaders are painfully aware of the maxim “once burned, twice learned.”

In negotiating budget matters, including entitlements, with the administration, Republican leaders once again face the wrath of their freshman class, who see moving toward Democrats on weighty issues as abandoning campaign promises.

One advantage House Republicans have over President Barack Obama is that they can release targets for spending reductions without detailing how they plan to achieve them. That’s because a congressional budget bill, which doesn’t go to the president for a signature, is a spending blueprint, not a detailed plan. It contains dollar figures, not policy. The details come in subsequent bills that are aimed at enacting specific changes.

That means GOP leaders still have time to get their freshmen up to speed and to convince the public that they’re on the right track.

“This budget will make a real difference, compared to anything the president has done on his budget,” McCarthy said. “History will write that what we did here was right.”

The outreach has been constant and has come from all levels. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) skipped a Thursday news conference with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas on repealing a tax provision of the new health care law to attend a lunch with freshmen in the Capitol basement.

During that meeting, hours before he huddled with Vice President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders, Boehner told freshmen where the party stood on the budget debate. He then took questions for roughly 30 minutes, an aide said.